Finding Clarity
by LilyGhost
Summary: Stephanie seeks refuge and a little peace and quiet inside the Rangeman building, and learns a few things about herself and Ranger while coming to grips with the similarities between the two people she'd been escaping.


**This is for Margaret who has been after me forever to write a story for the song 'Not Ready To Make Nice' by the Dixie Chicks. Happy Birthday a few days early, Margaret! I see this story being set around Eleven On Top, where Stephanie knows a couple of things about Ranger, but she and Joe never discuss him or them. Everything familiar belongs to Janet. All mistakes are mine.**

"Ranger, is there any chance that there's an apartment on four empty?"

"There is if you need one to be," he said into the phone. "Who's after you?"

"Joe ... and probably my mother right behind him. I just need a place they can't get to me for a few days."

"My apartment's always free for you to use."

I paused. I knew Ranger would offer his apartment _and _his bed, but I needed to make sure Joe was dealt with, and that he fully understands that he and I are completely over, before I shared _anything _of Ranger's. I wouldn't have even asked for a room on four, which put me closer to the temptation that is Ranger, but I was running out of places to hide out so I'd have a chance to regroup. I'd lasted only thirty minutes at Lula's. Connie's wasn't much better. I'd even tried Point Pleasant, thinking the distance would be too far for Joe to travel while he was on duty.

Turns out, he was taking his vacation days to do damage control, and I was seriously out of options. Joe refused to hear what I was saying when I have spoken to him, so now I refuse to. My captures have been good ones, but they didn't add up to enough to waste on a round trip ticket to somewhere other than here. I really didn't want to drag Ranger into another Morelli dilemma, but I needed a break to get my shit together before I spoke to Joe again. I was still too pissed about being viewed as a prize to him just so he could stick it to Ranger.

"Earth to Babe," Ranger said, showing me just how distracted I've become.

"I would say yes to your apartment, but there are a few things I need to straighten out first."

"Morelli?"

"Yup. He's proving to be my biggest problem. So ... can I stay at Rangeman?"

"You never have to ask, Steph," he said quietly.

I blew out a relieved breath. I didn't think Ranger would say no, but there's always a chance that he's grown tired of dealing with my crap, and wanted to start distancing himself from the mess I've become.

"Thank you. I'm just going to grab Rex and an overnight bag, and then I'll be over. I really appreciate this."

"I don't want your appreciation, Babe. I just want you okay. Are you?"

"I think so. If not, I'll get there soon. I'm just royally pissed at Joe right now."

Now Ranger paused. "You'll work it out," he told me, but his tone sounded clipped.

"No we won't. This time, Morelli and I are through. I'm done being bullied and told to grin and bear a relationship I don't want. Joe can move on, because I already have."

Before Ranger could read between the lines and ask what I meant, I spoke again.

"I'll be at Rangeman in under an hour. I'll see you then?"

"Count on it," was his reply.

I ended the call with a smile on my face. Ranger has always made me feel good, whereas Joe has been making me feel more and more like shit with every encounter we have. Once he lets go of me, I'd be able to put this, and those feelings, behind me.

"Well, Rex," I said to my hamster, the longest running male roommate I've ever had, "looks like we're Rangeman bound."

I had a feeling I'd be headed there eventually, just not under these circumstances. I quickly threw some clothes and a few toiletry items into a bag, and grabbed Rex on the way out of my apartment. My phone had immediately started ringing the second I'd hung up with Ranger, so I knew I didn't have a lot of time before someone showed up at my door. I was betting Joe would appear at Rangeman at some point, but at least I'd get a heads up first.

My parking lot was clear when I stepped out of the lobby, and I hurried out to my car before that changed. I put Rex in the passenger's seat, my bag in the back seat, and sent up a small prayer that my latest POS would actually start today. When I pulled out of my lot, I noticed a black SUV not far from my bumper.

My stomach suddenly felt a little funny ... in a good way. _Of course _Ranger would have sent someone to make sure I didn't have to talk to anyone I didn't want to.

"You can't help but love the guy," I said to Rex, picturing Ranger's face in my mind.

Rex is the only one besides myself that I've ever admitted that to. Ranger tells me he loves me all the time, but I've never said it back. I was too scared to. He knows his relationship limitations, but I was afraid when it came to him, I wouldn't have any. I _have _to know he is serious about me for a partner - physically and emotionally - not just serious about getting me into his bed, before I let _his _bedroom jump to my first option. Plus, I've had my hands full trying to make my mom and Joe see that I'm not budging on my refusal of Morelli's marriage proposal.

And instantly, the anger was back with a vengeance. If Joe really had wanted to marry me because he loved me, I would've actually felt bad about saying no and let him down gently. But it became apparent that he had an ulterior motive, and doesn't deserve my sympathy, my understanding, or my friendship. And I was done trying to explain that to him.

I stopped at a light and shook my head to clear it. I didn't want to think about Joe anymore until I had to. Hopefully, it'll take him a few days to humble himself enough to come to Ranger's building. And by then I may have my temper under control.

Ranger was waiting for me when I pulled into the underground garage. Hal drove in behind me, and I waved to him as he headed to the fleet vehicle section of the garage. I got out of my car and Ranger walked over to meet me. He tugged me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. It would seem like just a friendly kiss if it was from anyone except him. From Batman, it's sexy as hell just being wrapped in his arms.

Again, I called myself an idiot for staying with Joe for as long as I did. But I had to finally rip the blinders off, and acknowledge that he had been my last defense against Ranger. I didn't trust myself when it came to the Man of Mystery, and I needed Joe to keep him at arm's length until I could handle my feelings - and my overheated body - around him. I knew it was wrong to use Joe like that, but he had be using me right back, trying to make his own mother happy by pushing me into a quickie wedding, and pressuring me into agreeing to pop out a Morelli clone for them both.

I thought I'd made myself crystal clear on the subject, but Joe's proposal - in front of my beaming mother - made me see that he really doesn't give a crap at all about my thoughts on anything. He has a life plan in place and I'd been given a silent role in it. I swear, Joe gave _Ranger _more thought than he ever did me.

"Are you zoning out on me again?" Ranger asked, letting me go.

I sighed. "Yes and no. I've got a lot on my mind."

"How about you fill me in on it over dinner on seven?"

"And if I say I don't want to talk about it right now?" I asked him.

"Then we'll discuss something else."

"Okay. That sounds good."

"Let's get you moved in."

"On the _fourth _floor," I reminded him, just in case Ranger had other ideas.

"You're on the fourth floor _for now_, Babe, but we both know what happened last time you tried to stay away from me."

Unfortunately, I remember the Slayer scare all too well.

"That was different," I told him.

"Of course it was."

Ranger got my bag and Rex, and took the elevator with me to the fourth floor. He added my bag to the arm holding Rex's cage and opened the apartment door for me. The apartment is the same one I'd stayed in for a few hours before hightailing it right back to Ranger's. And it was obvious that he wouldn't mind a repeat of that floor change.

The apartment is bigger, cleaner, and a shitload safer than my own, but it still lacked something. And I knew the something missing is _Ranger_.

"I'll let the two of you get settled in," he told me. "You can come upstairs whenever you're ready."

I caught Ranger's hand as he turned to go.

"Thank you. I know I already said it, but I really appreciate this ... and everything else you've done for me."

"You're welcome to _this _apartment or the one on seven anytime, Babe. And when you're ready to talk, I'll be here to listen."

Ranger brushed my lips softly with his and then let himself out. I knew I was in deep shit when I caught myself taking a step towards the door to follow him.

"I'm so screwed, Rex," I said to him. "I think I'm more in danger _here _than I've ever been back home."

But Ranger behaved himself during dinner, and actually let me leave his apartment without trying to seduce me into staying the night. I was grateful for that, and also disappointed by it, but he seemed to have his own agenda. For the week I stayed inside his building, he was at my door with coffee and a _single _doughnut every morning. We had dinner in my fourth floor apartment or his on seven every night we could. And he let me tag along on a few Rangeman consults and takedowns, that gave me some on-the-job training and also insight into how he, and his company, does things.

It wasn't 'dating' by normal standards, but Ranger and I are far from normal. It appeared that he and I, and maybe the people in this building, are the only ones who believe that Joe and I are broken up ... and staying that way. And me being at Rangeman daily made Ranger even more attentive, more relaxed, and far more attractive if that were possible.

Which just made Joe's arrival a hell of a lot more awkward and unwelcome. When doom - and his sidekick gloom - showed up, I was in Ranger's office trying hard to pay attention to his words and not his hands, that were currently rubbing my shoulders as he filled me in on tomorrow's capture.

Ranger's phone rang and the sudden change in his body language let me know that it was serious. I suspected Joe had come calling, but I was really hoping I was wrong. Life at Rangeman has been good for me. I had my cell turned off so I got to talk only to the people I wanted to ... like Grandma and Mary Lou. The control room screened all calls reaching me here, so Joe and my mother couldn't get through no matter how many times they tried. And Ranger or Tank have been picking up my FTA files from the bonds office when they were there collecting theirs.

I've been enjoying the time I got to spend with Ranger. And I've actually slept better this week than I have since becoming a bounty hunter. I didn't want anything or anyone to intrude on it. I knew it was inevitable, though. I couldn't stay hidden inside the Rangeman building forever, but it had been nice to think I could.

I turned in Ranger's chair when I sensed him looking at me.

"Morelli's at the gate," he told me. "And he's not alone. Your mother is riding shotgun. Do you want to let them in? I can make them disappear if you're not ready to see either of them. You still haven't told me the details of whatever he did to upset you, but I assume they're bad."

"To me they are, but I guess it's time I deal with them once and for all."

Ranger smiled. "That's my girl," he said, before telling whoever called to open the gate.

He disconnected and I felt that he wanted to say something, but was choosing not to.

"What?" I asked him.

"Are you going to forgive him for whatever he did that pissed you off?"

"Depends on what he came here to say."

Apparently that wasn't what Ranger wanted to hear, because I was suddenly looking at his blank face.

I was out of my seat and immediately reaching for him. I didn't want to lose what had grown between us these last couple of days. Joe may have taken away my confidence for a time, but I wasn't letting him take Ranger away from me, too.

"Listen to me," I said, cupping his jaw in my hand. "I may forgive Joe if he admits to what a jerk he's been and promises to leave me alone after today, but I'll _never _forget what he's said and done to me, and what he continues to demand from me. Joe's not the man I thought he was, and he's definitely not the man I want to be with."

"Am I?"

"Yes, but only if you see us as something other than great in bed."

"We are extremely good in bed, but I know we're going to be lot more than that ... and sooner than we both thought."

My lips were already parting before Ranger's mouth descended on them. I let him make me forget for a minute about what was waiting for me downstairs. When Ranger drew his head back, I had to fight the urge to drag him back to me. And I also had to fight the urge to say a resounding _'fuck you' _to my mom and Joe, but I wanted to be mature about this despite the childish behavior of the two people I'd been escaping.

"Okay, now I'm positive I can do this," I said to Ranger. "Come on."

"Steph, I'm not sure I should be there. Joe and I sharing space right now might not be smart. I can just toss them out of the building, and then we can find something more pleasurable to do."

"You could make them go away, but that would be just a short term solution. If I want them both to leave me alone, I have to make them."

"And you want me there with you?" Ranger asked me.

"More like I _need _you there."

"Why?"

I rolled my eyes. "Isn't it obvious? I need you to keep me from killing Joe. He will press charges in a heartbeat if I tell him yet again that we're over and he ignores me, causing me to try to choke him."

"Let's go," Ranger said, curving his hand along my hip.

It was probably a dumb thing to do, but I slid my hand into his on the way to the elevator.

"What's fuckwit and the harpy doing here?" Tank asked us, his eyes only dropping briefly to mine and Ranger's joined hands.

"_Tank _..." Ranger barked.

I squeezed Ranger's hand. "It's okay, Ranger. Tank's nicknames are actually spot on."

"If you agree with me," Tank was saying, "why the hell did Gene let them in?"

"There are a couple things I need to say to Joe - and I guess my mom, too - and it's better if I do that here."

"We'll hang around in case you need someone to hide the bodies for you," Hector said, as we were waiting for the elevator doors to open.

"I was actually just hoping you guys will keep me from landing in a jail cell today."

"You're not going anywhere except my apartment after this," Ranger told me. "And if Morelli doesn't back the fuck off after this, I'll make sure _his _is the ass landing in a cell."

My eyes shot to Ranger, but I didn't argue either point.

"They're on the first floor," Tank informed us. "We'll be nearby, even if the sound of your mother's voice gives me nightmares. I can see why you were hanging out here to spare yourself the shrieking."

I smiled. "She's pissed, isn't she?"

"_Fucking _pissed," Hector added.

"I'm surprised Morelli's nuts aren't shriveled up into raisins just from listening to her on the ride over," Tank told me.

_I _don't even have nuts, and there were times I felt them shrivel when my mom hit a particularly shrill tone.

"I don't want Morelli's nuts mentioned in my building unless someone is in the process of removing them," Ranger told us.

"I'm on it," Hector replied.

"_No!_" I told him, scared now that Hector might end up arrested instead of me. "I'm just going to say a few things, and then they are both leaving. No _nut removal_ is happening today."

I swear Hector looked disappointed.

"Let's get this done, Babe. We've got other things to discuss."

That was an understatement.

Ranger and I went down to the first floor, and Tank was right ... my mother was already angry.

"_Why me, Joseph?_" I heard through the cracked-open door. "_I have given my children everything and they still put me through this. I'm never going to live this down. Pauline Barkley's daughter wouldn't move in with a criminal._"

"No ... Mrs. Barkley's daughter would just get knocked up by her sister's husband, and is trying to pass the kid off as her fiance's," I told my mother, as I came into the room. "If you ever feel like defending me, feel free to use that bit of gossip."

I hadn't let go of Ranger's hand, and Joe's eyes immediately shot to our intertwined fingers.

"What are you trying to prove, Cupcake?" He asked after a minute, probably once he'd counted to ten a dozen times.

"That I'm not _your 'cupcake'_. I'm waiting for that to finally sink in."

"Sleeping with Ranger isn't going to make you forget me."

"You understatement my abilities, Morelli," Ranger told Joe.

Okay, so maybe Ranger had been right about it not being a good idea for them to share a room. I sighed. I've screwed up all along with both men, why would I assume this would be any different?

I angled my body slightly so I'd be between Joe and Ranger. I'd intended to step away from Ranger, and hopefully draw Joe's anger away from him, but he retained possession of my hand. I've listened to Morelli call me everything he could think of with little more than raised eyebrows, but him saying _anything _negative about Ranger got my blood boiling, which wouldn't help things.

I know I should've told him that I _wasn't _sleeping with Ranger, not yet anyway, but I thought maybe that would be the one thing that would get him to stop focusing on a reconciliation between us. I was wrong. Joe had bed-hopped enough in his teens and twenties for him to believe sex is meaningless in most circumstances.

"Stephanie, tell Joseph that you are _not _sleeping with that man," my mom ordered me.

"I'm not telling him _anything_, or you either for that matter. Joe and I are no longer together, so I don't have to justify any of my actions."

"Cupcake ... can't you just get over what happened? Look ... I said I was sorry. And I've already forgiven you for what you've said to me."

Ranger's hand tightened on mine. He knew this was the choking hazard I was referring to.

"Well ... newsflash, Joe. _I _haven't forgiven _you_. Since I've been away from the Burg, I've realized a few things."

"Like becoming Manoso's sex toy is preferable to marrying me?"

"_Joseph!_" My mom exclaimed.

"Sorry, Mrs. Plum."

"I know you're not used to hearing the word _no_," I said to him, "but I honestly never thought two little letters were enough to completely change who you are. I loved a man who was devoted to making Trenton a better place to live, who loves his family but didn't let them dictate how he lived, and a man I thought loved _me _even if we couldn't seem to get along nine times out of ten."

"I _do _love you. That's why I asked you to be my wife. Something Manoso here would _never _do."

"Don't _ever _speak for me, Morelli," Ranger bit out, in a tone that sent shivers throughout my body.

"Come on," Joe said, trying to egg him on, "you like the idea of stealing something that doesn't belong to you. You started off with cars, then moved onto women."

"That kind of flawed logic is exactly why you don't have a woman," Ranger told him, "because you think Stephanie is just an object to be taken away from you."

"I'm not an object. I've said more than once that I'm not interested in a marriage proposal. And what did you do? You told the entire Burg that we were getting married this summer _despite _me saying over and over again that I'm not making that kind of commitment anytime soon. And definitely not to _you_."

I'm still mad as hell about that. I can tolerate a lot, but not someone completely disregarding or ignoring what I was adamant about. To me, that meant Joe didn't care at all about my feelings ... or about _me _in general.

"You wouldn't have stayed with Joseph if you hadn't been interested in marrying him," my mother added.

"I'll admit to being confused for a little while, and more than a little stupid, but I'm not anymore. I don't want what you and dad have, Mom. And I sure as hell refuse to marry someone who makes me feel like I'm nothing more than a trophy he got for beating out someone else."

Ranger looked down at me. "Why would you see yourself as some form of prize?"

I decided to finally let Ranger in on what I'd been keeping from him.

"Why don't you tell him what date you suggested as our wedding day, Joe. That should explain why you made me feel like a pull toy between you two."

"That isn't any of his business."

"You're the one who dragged Ranger into it," I pointed out.

"How so?" Ranger asked.

"Joe decided that it would be fun to get married on August twelfth," I said to Ranger. "Does that day ring a bell?"

I could feel the air in the room turn cold.

"You wanted to marry Stephanie on _my _birthday, Morelli? Are you that threatened by the relationship she and I have?"

"You don't have a 'relationship' with her, Manoso."

"It seems you're mistaking me for _you_. Something Steph's _never _done."

"I've never mentioned something like Ranger's birthday to you, Joe, for exactly this reason. I bet you called in a favor or two to get it. And how much hate were you experiencing when you stood in front of me and suggested it? Or maybe you thought Ranger cared so little for me, he wouldn't have shared anything of his except his body?"

Joe flinched. _Score one for Stephanie, _I thought bitterly.

"Stephanie," my mother said, "why don't you just come stay with your father and I until you're feeling better ..."

"I'm not _sick_, Mom. Just sick and tired of this kind of crap. I don't want to stay with you. I'm not marrying Joe. And I don't appreciate the two of you ganging up on me. If you love Joe so much, _you _marry him."

"_Stephanie!_"

"Get upset all you want. I don't care, because I don't regret dumping Joe. I like living here. And even if I go back to my apartment, I won't be venturing into the Burg for anything except work and the bakery. I stupidly thought that I'd be able to get past this if you both would just give up on a Plum/Morelli marriage, but I see that it goes much deeper than that. You two have already set up a life for me I've never been interested in. And if I give either of you an inch, you'll be mailing out wedding invites before I can stop you."

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you want, Babe."

"Until you find someone else you want occupying your bed," Joe said to Ranger.

"The _only _one I want in my bed is Stephanie. You acting like an asshole is helping me far more than yourself, so by all means ... keep it up."

"Fuck you."

"_Joseph Anthony Morelli_," my mom said, "don't you go stooping to his level by using that language or I'll tell your mother."

Ranger's lips kicked up. "You'd better be careful, you wouldn't want your mommy to be told that your halo is tarnished, if not dented."

Joe opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it.

"Why don't you just leave," I told him. "You're not really listening, and I have no intention of putting up with either of you anymore."

"_Putting up with me?_" Joe asked. "You're not exactly easy to live with."

"So why would you want to? You hate my job, even told me that I'll soon be dead if I continue to do it. You complain about my friends ..."

"I don't think Manoso fits into the '_friend' _category anymore."

"You're finally correct about something," Ranger told him. "Steph and I have passed 'just friends' a long time ago."

I sighed. This has quickly turned into what Tank would call a clusterfuck, and I was more than ready to have this discussion over with.

"Mom, you and Joe need to go. I'm not pretending everything is back to the way it has been, because it's _not_. If you both continue to bother me, I'm going to stay at Rangeman indefinitely." I looked over at Ranger. "If that's okay?"

"My home is your home."

"I bet," Joe said under his breath.

"Shut it, Joe," I told him. "I _was _willing to forgive you for acting like a selfish prick, but I've changed my mind since you clearly want to stay one. And that's fine. It's just ... I refuse to listen to it - and to you and Mom - after today. I may have been hurt when I left you that day, but now I'm glad we had that blowup. I've figured out that you weren't the one keeping me from being happy, _I _was."

I took a deep breath before continuing.

"Now that I've seen how great life can be without someone telling me how to eat, sleep, and ultimately ... how to live, I wouldn't trade that freedom for anything you could offer me. And I'm not going to feel bad or apologize for not conforming to your idea of the 'perfect' girlfriend. The only thing I asked of you was to forget me and move on."

"I don't want to, Cupcake. I can't forget you anymore than you can forget me."

"Stephanie, don't do something that you'll regret," my mom told me. "Don't throw your life away for some ... "

I narrowed my eyes at her. "_Don't_, Mom. Ranger has done _nothing _to deserve the label you slapped on him. You obviously approve of Joe, and Ranger has done more than Morelli ever has for this city, he just doesn't have to flash a badge in order to do it."

"You do know anything about this man," she told me.

"I know Ranger never tricked little girls into playing games in his parents' garage, or wrote about me on various walls across the friggin' city. He's never been emotionally abusive towards me. Really ... he's done nothing to me except love me, even if that meant letting me go because he thought I'd have a better life with somebody else."

"Biggest mistake I've ever made," Ranger told me, sliding his arm around my back and pulling me close.

"I didn't fight you on it like I should have, so we're both to blame."

"Joseph has said that this man has killed people," my mother told me, like Ranger wasn't standing in the room with us.

"Have you forgotten that you may have killed a guy in a bunny suit? And Joe's killed people, too. Do you hold that against him?"

"He is a _detective_, Stephanie."

"Well, Ranger is a bounty hunter, a highly-trained security expert, and a soldier who has served this country for almost the same number of years that Joe's worked on the force, so you should be grateful to have a man like him here in Trenton."

"He's got you wrapped around his little finger, doesn't he?" Joe asked. "You'll just repeat whatever he tells you and accept it as fact."

"After all this time, you still refuse to believe that Stephanie can think for herself," Ranger said. "No one can manipulate her. She's a smart woman with incredible instincts regarding people. You obviously can't see it, but I sure as hell can."

"When it suits you," Joe told him.

"Despite popular opinion, I'm not stupid," I said to him. "If Ranger was lying to me just to get into my pants, I'd know it. After all, my instincts were screaming at me to get the hell away from you, and apparently they were dead on."

"I've changed."

"Yeah ... well so have I. I no longer need your, or anyone else's, approval to feel good about myself. And it makes me sick to think that my own mother wants me to be miserable, fulfilling a role that would essentially snuff out who I am and who I want to be in the future."

"I want you to be happy."

"No, Mom. You just want me to pass the inspection issued by _your _Burg peers. I'm not one of you, nor do I strive to be. So if you and Joe want to get together and chat again, maybe you could put your heads together and solve _real _Burg issues instead of preconceived ones regarding me."

I could actually feel how proud Ranger was of me in that moment.

"Think this through, Stephanie," my mother told me. "Is this man really worth it?"

"Yes ... he is," I told her. "And his name is Ranger. _Carlos _if you want a more 'acceptable' name. He's been generous, caring, and understanding almost from the moment I met him. Unlike you, I'm not the type of person to condemn someone just because they come from somewhere other than the Burg. In fact, I find Ranger more attractive for having no Burg ties at all."

"So you're using the nutcase to get back at us ..." Joe stated.

"No. I'm staying with the man who's saner than all three of us put together because I love him, and because he's nothing like either of you."

Ranger's lips twitched. "Thanks, Babe. There isn't a higher compliment than being ranked above these two."

"I'd put you well above them. Hell, I'd put you on a separate chart in another room altogether."

He pressed a kiss to the top of my curls and then shifted back to bodyguard mode.

"I think we've said all that we need to," I told my mother and Joe. "I'm not giving Ranger up, and I'm never moving back to the Burg. I'm also not getting married. And I'm not even remotely interested in having a relationship with you, Joe. Does that cover everything?"

"I think it does, Babe."

I smiled at Ranger. "You would say that."

"And I'd be right. Why don't we leave your mother and Morelli with Tank, and continue on with our plans for the afternoon?"

"Which are ... going over our next takedown?" I asked him.

"If you'd like."

Even work sounded better than talking to my mother and Joe, but I think Ranger has plans in mind that didn't involve work, ones I definitely won't be putting on hold any longer.

"Tank and Hector will show you out," I told Bitchy and Bratty.

"Cupcake ..."

"Stephanie ..." my mom said.

I held up my hand to stop them. "I told you that I was through talking about this. I'm never becoming a Morelli. I won't be attending anymore family dinners so you can badger me into doing what you want me to. And I'm not leaving Ranger for either of you. If you want me in your life, you'll have to accept him, too. Now if you'll excuse us, we have something more pressing to do."

Truth is, I don't know what Ranger has in store for me once we leave the conference room, but I can't wait to find out.


End file.
